Tonight, we took our annual trip to Target to kick off Operation Christmas Child. The official collection week starts next week and we wanted to get a head start.
We brought a great group of our youth group kids with us.
They brought their own money and once inside the doors spread out to do their christmas shopping.
We are so proud of them.
Because for most teenagers, Christmas is all about them. But for these teenagers, tonight, Christmas was about someone else.
The basic premise for Operation Christmas Child, is to fill up a shoebox of Christmas gifts that will then get shipped to a child somewhere in the world. Many of these children are in great need and many of them have never received Christmas gifts. So it’s an opportunity to give a gift that will truly make a difference in the life of a child. Considering the many gifts that our family will give this Christmas, these are always some of the most meaningful ones. All that being said, this year, Ellee was my shopping buddy and so she kicked off the night picking out a few gifts for our shoebox. I lovingly told her that we probably didn’t need to get five chap sticks for our box. She agreed with a smile and then we were off to find other treasures to fill our box with.
Along the way, we met up with friends.
They were also busy finding toys and gifts for their boxes.
You get to choose either a boy or girl and what age group you would like to buy for. These handsome guys filled up a box for a ten year old boy, which was perfect since we have our own who helped us know what another kid his age would like.
All of the kids did an amazing job purchasing presents.
Ellee was disappointed when she realized that the Hello Kitty piñata would be too big for our box.
When all was said and done, our team of students put together fifteen boxes for Operation Christmas Child. We are so proud of them and so excited to know that these boxes will bless fifteen children this year at Christmas time.
Operation Christmas Child is a wonderful way to make a difference this Holiday Season. For parents, it’s the perfect way to teach our children how to give back and how to make a difference. Click any of the links for more information, or just click here. And so you know, Eastport Bible Church is an Operation Christmas Child relay center and will be collecting shoeboxes all next week.
Laura Herr Photography 